What's the oldest thing in your house?

I have an old trunk. It belonged to my ex's grand parents...they put all their stuff in it and took the journey from Germany to Staten Island in the USA. Other than that...bits of Victorian china.

Following on from Kateks post earlier about the oldest thing in your house, which wedding gift/household item in your house has lasted best in everyday use? Mine is the freezer, (only) 33 years old and never gave a moments trouble in four house moves, and my ironing board, 35 years old

I think the oldest things I own, that I know the date of, is a pair of silver berry spoons which I have dated, from their hallmark, to about 1818. My house is a bit older, being built some time before 1709.

Apart from that I have all sorts of bits and pieces, ancient and modern, that I have acquired over the years.

Me!,

Me!

I have a lovely well worn pine chest - date inside is end of 19th Century may be older sits in my Lounge & contains my spare bedding & some of my soft toy collection (no-where to display them!!)

I also have my Granddad's WW1 medals, a couple pf photos taken in Northern France, he was in Horse Artillery & his joining up papers. They are my prize possessions as I have very fond memories of GD

Also have a large silver tray which I bought my parents for their Silver Wedding Anniversary although DM is still alive I already have it as she parted with the very old oak chest it stood on

Lots of fossils (up to 400-500 million years - trilobites, Branchiopods etc.) most people have jewelllery made from precious & semi-precious stones which may be even older I.e. diamonds formed hundreds of millions of years old!

Brachiopods rather than branchiopods for the palaeontologists amongs you!

@Maimeo - I married in 1969 and have been using seersucker serviettes (probably not the right word these days?) from a wedding present ever since! I think I'm down to about three from the original set, and bought something similar last year but they're not as good. Mind you, I've been living alone for many years now, so they don't get too much of a hammering...

Well the oldest thing in my house is me. Its a relatively new house and I've furnished it with new. Don't like to admit it but its got to be me. At least I'm fit and well.

my grandfather's cross from his rosary beads.

Russian silver and enamel cigarette case dating from the Victorian period also 2 Royal Doulton vases ( my great grandfather worked at the Lambeth pottery)

I have a Granton ham knife that my parents next door neighbours gave us as a wedding present fifty years ago. I have used it regularly all that time and still do, despite it recently having lost the bottom third of its bone handle. I am trying to find out if I can get a new one put on. I would hate to be without it.

My great grandma's gold pince-nez, probably early Victorian. The funny thing is that the lenses seem to be clear glass. Did she wear them just for effect?

My collection of fossils

Oldest thing ...is our house
1740
And needs attention all the time !!

My husband's jokes !

I was going to say me, like someone else, but remembered some old letters that I've inherited from my Dad. They come from a branch of my Mum's family, and are historically interesting. Some from a distant gggg-uncle who was a newspaper correspondent in the Middle East in the early 1800s. Lebanon and Palestine.

My husband and a Delph egg cup

Re wedding presents - someone gave us a set of three orange mixing bowls when we married in 1969. They are made of quite thick plastic with a handle on one side which is useful. I think I can say that one or all of them get used every day and I can't think how many times they have been through the dishwasher. They are a little scratched inside but they are now becoming a bit of a family joke when I get them out to use and I would be very upset if one got lost.

2 black parasols dating from 1901 on the death of Victoria plus a set of pretty side plates that belonged to my great grandmother who was born around 1865.

As far as weddingpresents go, I still have a pan given to us by my nan and use it as an egg pan. And the colander with one long handle, given to us by my great aunt Sally, only died last year. We also have her gate leg oak table but I have no idea how old it is.

Strange that you should ask that question because I have just been sorting drawers and cupboards out getting rid of old rubbish collected over the years. The oldest thing so far is a box of OH's Great, Great, Great Grandma's jewellery. Only paste (I believe!) from Victorian Days. She however lived in South Africa (land of the diamonds!) when she wore them. Just cannot bring myself to off load them. There are some that twinkle, brooches and ear rings, some necklaces that are jet black beads, a pearl necklace and some that seem to be made out of bone, could be ivory I am not sure. They are all individually carved. Nice.

Two little books, one a "Daily Text Book" from 1874 and a Compendium from 1875 no idea where they came from. My favourite possesion is my Mums engagement ring from 1937, not old but precious.

Just remembered something else so I am not sure which is the oldest. It is a picture of the man that wrote the song..'Silver threads among the gold' who was a relative of OH. We also have a box of photos of relatives killed in WWI.